Alstom Transport inaugurates its new facilities on the industrial site of Tarbes-Séméac

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The new Alstom Transport site in Tarbes-Séméac in France was inaugurated on April 5, 2012 in the presence of Martin Malvy, President of the Midi-Pyrénées Region, Gerard Trémège, President of the Urban Community of Grand Tarbes and Mayor of Tarbes, Patrick Kron, Chairman and CEO of Alstom, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, President of Alstom Transport and Christophe Florin, Site Director.

The Tarbes-Séméac plant specialises in power modules, equipment and traction systems for very high-speed trains, locomotives and regional trains. In 2009, Alstom launched an extensive renovation of the site, where it has been established since 1921. The overall cost of this industrial investment totals 21 million. Work began in December 2009 and was completed in December 2011.

By reorganising the Tarbes site and its production processes, Alstom has been able to improve productivity, significantly reduce its operating costs and step up the competitiveness of its industrial base. Improvements in space management have shortened the time spent on handling operations, making assembly lines much more flexible.

The new buildings all comply with Frances RT 2005 regulations[1] and the initial targets for reducing energy costs were already met by the beginning of 2012. Gas consumption has been cut by 60%, and in due course, the electricity bill should be reduced by 25%. To achieve these goals, fewer buildings are now being used and they have been fitted with better thermal insulation, as well as cutting-edge technology electrical equipment (centralized automatic air conditioning and heating, double-flow mechanical ventilation re-using 80 % of the energy evacuated).

In addition, Alstom has contracted EDF Energies Nouvelles to build and operate a 5,000 sq. m. roof-mounted photovoltaic power plant providing clean, renewable energy equivalent to 775 MWh/year.

All these developments contribute to the overall improvement of working conditions for all site staff. Each new position created has been optimised in terms of safety and communication between teams, helping to increase productivity and achieve optimal working conditions.

About Alstom Transport at Tarbes-Séméac

To meet customer expectations for quality, innovation and cost in an increasingly competitive global rail market, Alstom maintains control over the manufacturing of the key components of its trains one of the few railway manufacturers to do so. The Alstom site in Tarbes-Séméac specializes in power modules, equipment and powertrains for very high-speed trains, locomotives and regional trains. It is equipped with a full range of R&D, engineering and production resources to design, develop and manufacture electronic and electric propulsion equipment for traction drives. Validation, a crucial step in developing traction systems before the commissioning of Alstom rolling stock, is another key aspect of the expertise developed on the Tarbes site. It is also equipped with one of the most powerful testing platforms for traction research, with six test benches, thereby helping to minimize tests on trains.

The Alstom Transport Tarbes-Séméac site has nearly 700 employees, including 280 engineers and managers. They are currently involved in projects for the supply of EP20 and 2ES5 locomotives (Russia), KZ4A and KZ8A (Kazakhstan), Coradia Nordic regional trains (Sweden), Coradia Continental (Germany), Coradia Polyvalent known as Régiolis (France), MI09 suburban trains (RER line A in the Ile-de-France region), and Euroduplex very high-speed trains (France and Morocco).

The site has a current backlog of two years business and generates nearly 2,000 jobs for its suppliers.


Press Contacts

Christine Rahard, Isabelle Tourancheau Tel: +33 1 41 49 32 95 /39 95

christine.rahard@chq.alstom.com, isabelle.tourancheau@chq.alstom.com  

Stéphanie Berna (Tarbes-Séméac) - Tél : + 33 (0)5 62 53 47 90 / Port : + 33 (0)6 89 06 26 07

stephanie.berna@transport.alstom.com

[1] The RT 2005 regulation addresses the national energy strategy announced by the law of 13 July 2005, setting forth energy policy directions. It supports national energy independence and fosters the economic competitiveness of French engineering, technology and products on the domestic and export markets.